Leveling of reflector

a reflector and leveling technology, applied in the field of luminaires, can solve the problems of affecting the performance of the reflector, and the inability to achieve higher reflectances, so as to achieve the effect of increasing the proportion of specularly reflected light from the luminaire and reducing power consumption

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-06-28
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] An advantage of at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiment is that the proportion of specularly reflected light from a luminaire is increased.
[0012] Another advantage of at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiment is that equivalent illumination of a distant object may be achieved at a lower power consumption.

Problems solved by technology

In general, aluminum surfaces only achieve about 60% specular reflection (i.e., about 40% of the reflected light is diffuse) because the sheet aluminum blanks used in forming the reflectors are not perfectly smooth.
Higher reflectances are generally not possible.
If the polishing is done before the blank is shaped, the reflector can acquire new imperfections in the shaping process.
Moreover, faceted reflectors used in many applications are difficult to polish to high levels of smoothness after shaping.
Additionally, the polishing process tends to be time consuming and thus may not be economically feasible for some lighting applications.
Thus, specular reflection is not significantly improved.
However, due to the size of the reflector, luminaires with glass reflectors tend to be heavy and can fracture relatively easily.
Plastic has also been used for reflectors, but it tends to be limited to low temperature applications.
As a result, the reflector surfaces, particularly those closest to the lamp, tend to become hot during operation.

Method used

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  • Leveling of reflector
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Embodiment Construction

[0015] Aspects of the exemplary embodiment relate to a reflector for a luminaire which is suited to use in exterior environments, such as to illuminate sports arenas and roadways. The reflector includes a layer of a leveling material which reduces surface irregularities in the reflector. The resulting luminaire has a high beam efficiency and is capable of operating at temperatures in excess of 100° C., in particular, temperatures in excess of 150° C., and which can exceed 200° C., without significant impairment to the beam efficiency. Accordingly, more of the light from the present lamp reaches the distant object that the luminaire is intended to illuminate than is the case for an otherwise identically formed conventional luminaire.

[0016]“Beam efficiency” can be defined as the ratio of the flux emitted by the luminaire inside the solid angle defined by the beam spread to the flux of the bare light source. The beam spread is generally considered to be the angle between points of 50%...

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Abstract

A luminaire (10) includes a substrate (40) having a concave interior surface (44). A reflective surface (42) is supported by the substrate. A leveling layer (48) intermediate the substrate and the reflective surface includes a porcelain enamel. A lamp (12), such as a high intensity discharge lamp, illuminates the reflective surface.

Description

BACKGROUND [0001] The exemplary embodiment relates to the lighting arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with a reflector for a lamp which provides a high beam efficiency and is particularly suited to sporting, roadway, floodlighting, and other applications where the lamp is located at a significant distance from an object to be illuminated. [0002] Luminaires for illuminating roadways and sporting arenas typically include a reflector surface which provides a collimated or highly directional beam of light from a lamp situated adjacent the reflector. A smooth reflector surface is one factor which is desirable for achieving a high beam efficiency. The reflector surface should be as smooth as possible to maximize the amount of specularly reflected light and minimize diffuse reflection. In general, aluminum surfaces only achieve about 60% specular reflection (i.e., about 40% of the reflected light is diffuse) because the sheet aluminum blanks used in forming the reflectors...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): F21V7/00
CPCC03C8/20C03C2207/08C23C28/322C23C28/345C23C28/3455C23C28/347C23C28/42C23D5/02F21V7/06F21W2131/10F21W2131/105F21V7/24F21V7/28
Inventor COLLINS, BYRON
Owner GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
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